ELLESMERE Port and Neston MP Andrew Miller has decried Chancellor George Osborne’s budget as one of ‘smoke and mirrors’ which will not help the economy but will have a negative impact on local families.
The Coalition Government Budget, announced to the country on Wednesday, March 23, included a 1p cut in fuel duty, a five per cent cut in corporation tax to help businesses and an increase in the tax threshold for lower earners to £8,000.
Despite the gains, hardline decisions on how the economy will be handled in the coming months were also announced which included a hike in National Insurance contributions, a three-year freeze for public sector pay for those earning £21,000 and the news that child benefits would also stay at a fixed level for three years.
Mr Miller slammed George Osborne’s policies as “reckless” and a “cut too deep and too fast” that would “hurt” families in Ellesmere Port and Neston.
He added: “In this budget the Tories have confirmed the banks will get a tax cut this year while families will see their child benefit frozen and will pay an average extra £450 in VAT; and families earning as little as £26,000 are set to lose their tax credits next year too.
“But while their plan is definitely hurting, all the signs are that it’s not working either.
The VAT rise and cuts are driving up unemployment again and the independent budget watchdog says inflation will be higher and the economy will grow more slowly this year and next. That’s why borrowing will actually be higher after this budget than before. So these reckless plans will make it much harder to get the deficit down. It doesn’t make sense.
Labour MP Mr Miller said that the government should have gone further on petrol prices in the budget.
He said: “George Osborne should have listened to Labour and reversed the VAT rise on petrol and he should have listened to Labour and repeated the bank bonus tax this year, to help young people into work, build thousands of affordable homes and boost business investment.
“It’s now clear that George Osborne’s plan is wrong. For the sake of our economy, our young people and the future of Ellesmere Port and Neston the Conservative-led government need to think again and get a plan B that puts jobs and growth first – before it’s too late.”